Nijishitsuji
by make-shadows
Summary: Before the original storyline of Kuroshitsuji, a Lady Coreilia Ishiki comes to stay at the Phantomhive estate with her demon butler, Leian. She is not the ordinary type of noble. What kind of relationship will she have with Ciel? Sebastian and Leian?
1. Daidaiiro

"Shall I go through your appointments for today, _bocchan_?" Sebastian asked in his usual silky smooth voice. His master, Ciel, folded his arms over his chest and reclined on the brown leather of his office chair. He stared down at the red-brown wood of his desk, shining in the morning light coming in through the curtains behind him. "Get on with it," he grunted coldly.

It was seven o'clock in the morning at the Phantomhive estate and Ciel was just staring his day's work. At six o'clock, he had awoken to one of Sebastian's light touches on his shoulder. After being dressed in his usual navy blue suit, he ate a simple breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, French toast, and milk. So far his routine was exactly matched to that of yesterday's, not to mention the day before that and the day before that. If schedules were transcribed into paintings, he thought, they would all be dull gray watercolor on canvas.

"In three hours you have a Math lesson with Mr. Coreman. At one o'clock, Lady Elizabeth will visit the mansion, and tonight Lady Coreilia Ishiki from Red Lantern Publishing will be joining us for dinner to discuss the children's books you wanted to publish. She will be staying at the Phantomhive residence for three days. That concludes today's appointments," Sebastian finished with a small bow.

Ciel opened his exposed eye and threw a sideways look at his butler. "A Japanese Lady with an English first name? How unusual," he noted. Sebastian nodded. "I have already looked into Lady Ishiki and know all the details pertaining to her. She is the head of the company, even though she is only your age." Ciel closed his eye. "Let's hear it then." It was Sebastian's turn to close his eyes, and when he reopened them, there was a devious shine playing amongst blood red. "She also…has a situation very similar to ours."

Coreilia Ishiki. A twelve-year-old girl of Japanese descent. The head of her very prosperous publishing company, accompanied at all times by a loyal female butler named Leian Vinculis who was said to have performed superhuman feats time and again. Apparently they shared a very special relationship, almost like sisterhood, but not quite. Coreilia was brought up in a peasant family in Kyoto, Japan, and at the age of five, she was kidnapped by a famous cult that rounded up children of all ages from all around the world and forced them to fight each other to the death while people spectated from the stands. It was a "kill or be killed" situation, and there was no record of how many children met their deaths in that arena, but after five years, she formed a contract with the Devil and escaped, hands bloodstained. She immediately went to the Scotland Yard, the closest police force to the cult's hideout, and reported the murder of countless innocent children. Even to this day they were still tracking down the sinful cult, which was much harder to catch than they had thought, since they moved around all the time and left no traces behind. Lady Coreilia had been waiting for news about their downfall ever since.

In the meantime, to repay her debt to all the other lives she had taken, she opened a publishing company, specializing in children's books, and by the end of its first year it had published fifty bestsellers, a phenomenal achievement for even an experienced publishing company.

Ciel did not know what to expect from Lady Ishiki. Reports said that she was very outspoken and energetic, and others said that she was well-behaved and lady-like. All of them noted that she hardly dressed like a lady, in some form or fashion. As he ate his lunch at his desk, he fiddled with a white pawn, watching as it heavily contrasted the dull colors of his desk. Unconsciously the corner of his mouth flicked upward. There was a splotch of red on the monochrome gray canvas. Things were about to get interesting…

As he walked down the grand staircase to the first floor of the estate, Ciel observed the three servants, Finny, Mei-Rin, and Bard, as they scramble around, preparing silverware and china, tearing away the pink crepe streamers and sweeping up the confetti left by Lizzy. Sebastian walked briskly across the room, chef's apron still tied around his waist, dusting off his gloves. Ciel snapped and caught his attention.

"Has dinner been prepared successfully?" he asked his butler. Sebastian bowed. "We have had a few MINOR setbacks…" here he threw Bard a creepy smile. "But it is all taken care of." Ciel groaned and rubbed his temples. So that's what all the explosions half an hour ago were. He had too much to deal with, he thought. He really needed a break…

"_Bocchan,_" Sebastian walked up to him. Ciel snapped out of his thoughts. "What, Sebastian?" he asked testily. The butler bowed and stood to his side. "Lady Ishiki is here. Perhaps you should go outside to greet her." Ciel blushed, embarrassed that he didn't notice the plain black carriage that had just pulled up at the front door. He waved Sebastian off and walked briskly out the door and into the fading colors of the sunset.

Mei-Rin was standing by the door of the carriage, helping a small figure out of the black box, smiling a cheesy welcome smile, and Ciel could read the look of apprehension on her face. He looked to the side of her and saw why. A girl, about three inches taller than him, was stepping out into the cold air, her body shrouded with an unbuttoned black trench coat, arm held up to her black top hat to keep it from blowing it away. Under her coat Ciel could see a simple cloth kimono, a solid shade of neon orange, tightly wrapped around her body. The top of her face was shrouded by the hat, but a coy smile adorned a pale, slim face. The thump of her black riding boots echoed in the wind, and she hopped off the last rung and stood up, admiring the façade of the Ciel's grand home. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of green and her thin, straight black hair blew in a frenzy over her right shoulder. Her mouth was wide with delight and she looked up at Ciel, who was in awe of this incredibly odd girl, and exclaimed, "Your home is truly exquisite, Ciel Phantomhive! Such elaborate pilasters!"

Ciel regained his firm posture and shut his mouth. He had never seen such a girl, so carefree and unique with her attire. "Why thank you, Lady Ishiki," he said in return. "_Oujo-sama_," he heard a low female's voice call from behind the vibrant fabric of the Lady's clothing. A young woman with bright purple eyes stepped elegantly out of the carriage. "Must you always act so informal? There is serious business on the line here." Ciel looked the arriving butler up and down. She wore the same formal butler uniform as Sebastian, but she had a thick, black, bushy ponytail sticking out of the back of her head and her forehead was covered by a heavy covering of her curved bangs. Sebastian laughed, surprising Ciel. He had not laughed in quite a while. "Do not fear, Leian-_san,_" he chuckled. "_Bocchan _does not mind. Do you, _bocchan?_" Ciel saw him wink. The little Phantomhive swallowed nervously. "Indeed. I welcome you to our humble abode, Lady Coreilia Ishiki!" he said to his guest. In a flash, he saw orange fabric swishing in front of his eyes. He looked up, startled, and saw Lady Ishiki's grinning face not far from his. She held up a bent arm, hand curled slightly, and motioned for him to do the same. He carefully placed his hand in hers, mimicking the curve of her elbow, and he felt her squeeze his hand. It was a light squeeze, but Ciel felt some hesitation in it, like she was holding back from crushing his small hand in hers. Lady Ishiki's grin grew wider. "I look forward to working with you, Lord Ciel," she giggled happily, and released his hand. Ciel, slightly befuddled, turned around and called over his shoulder, "If you would be so kind and follow me, Lady Ishiki," and lead her into the dining room.

"So here is the first version of the book, as you requested," Coreilia said through a mouthful of emi nigiri, sending Leian over to give Ciel a thin, 10" by 15", leather bound book with gold writing on the cover. They were sitting in the dining room, a two-floor-tall room, elaborate Baroque architecter kept from spilling from the walls by the flood of candelight. The table was far too big for just two people, and the room echoed loudly.

Sebastian had served a mound of sushi for dinner, much to Lady Ishiki's delight, who immediately helped herself to. Leian stood to her Lady's side, maintaining a steady pokerface.

Ciel leafed through the book lazily, admiring the illuminated text and small thumbnails while chewing on a tuna sashimi. It was a very excellent job on the publisher's part and he was impressed. But suddenly, Leain handed him a new book, very wide and short, like a photograph album. Same bindings, but when Ciel opened the pages, the paper was full of color, detailed illustrations growing into the page. Lady Ishiki had drawn the text so it merged into the pictures; roots twisting themselves into letters, white clouds forming words. Ciel had never seen anything like this, but he was more than pleased with it. He looked up to see Lady Ishiki smiling smugly.

"I had another version made. Do you like it?" she asked Ciel. "It's…incredible," he breathed. "How much does this cost to make?" Ishiki giggled. "Even less than the first version," she announced. "Doing such tiny details in the text for the whole book is very expensive."

It was decided, then. With both masters more than pleased, the rest of the evening was spent talking about the latest in crime. Ciel found Lady Coreilia quite a wall-informed girl, despite her manner of speaking. These three days were going to be amusing. He was looking forward to them.

Sebastian closed the door to _bocchan_'s room and looked down the hall where Leian was saying goodnight to Lady Ishiki in the guest room. He must remember to compliment the young Lady's genius to her.

Suddenly, a draft blew his candle out, and Sebastian watched as a thin line of gray smoke trailed from the wick, red eyes glowing in the night. He winced. He had no matches with him, a terrible blunder for the Phantomhive butler.

A faint whoosing sound caught Sebastian's ears and a dark form appeared in front of him. He watched as a hand rose up to the candle and he heard a set of fingers snap. A little spark lit up the hall and caught on the wick, bursting into flame. Reian's amused face appeared in the darkness. There had never been anything special-looking about Reian, Sebastian remembered, except that she had purple eyes and in human society she could be called "beautiful", but she was a very independent _akuma, _and she was excellent company.

"Tsk tsk," Reian chided him. "Remember to bring matches next time, Sebastian." He smiled kindly. "Always proper, as to be expected of the Ishiki household," he cooed. Sebastian straightened up again. "_Ara_, I don't seem to remember the last time I saw you, Reian."

Reian sighed and stepped away, back turned to him. "I think it was back in Hell, where we were lazing around with Joseph," she reminisced. Sebastian remembered now. That was several years ago, before that little kid, Luka, had summoned him.

He heard Reian sigh. "It's great to be working again, although _oujo-sama _is hardly a hard client," the woman said, stretching. Sebastian chuckled. "Fu fu fu, have you become attached to a human, Rei-chan?" Sebastian taunted her, honey dripping off his words a gallon a letter. Reian turned her head, purple eyes glaring at him. "Shouldn't I ask the same of you, Sebas-chan?" she asked coolly. The Phantomhive butler chuckled again and walked over to his old friend, smiling slyly. "Now that we have arrived at agreeable terms, shall I take the liberty of showing you the surrounding area?" he offered.

As the two butlers walked off into the night, the moon cast the bright orange light of fall.


	2. Midori

"_Bocchan,_" came a distant voice from within the void of sleep. Ciel rustled, drifting back into the real world, opening his eyes to see Sebastian's smirking face. Shadows drooped lazily on the floor, and the sky was completely navy blue with the exception of a smudge of orange in the center.

"It's time to wake up, _bocchan,_" he heard his butler tell him. Ciel sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. Another boring day was about to be set in motion. But then he remembered the previous night, when Lady Ishiki had arrived, and the gray canvas once again flowered into reds and oranges.

As he sat on the edge of the bed and allowed Sebastian to dress him, he wondered what Lady Ishiki did in the mornings. Did she oversleep? Did she wake herself up and dance around her room? Did she go for a morning run? As Sebastian snapped the last brass button into place, Ciel stood up. "What is being served for breakfast today?" he asked Sebastian testily. Sebastian bowed. "Today there is a ham and bacon omelet, served with hot porridge and fresh fruit," he announced. "And…" the butler trailed off, looking nervous. "Also…"

"_Ohayo, _Lord Phantomhive!" Lady Ishiki shouted to him while mixing a bowl of egg. Ciel lurched back. He wasn't expected this when Sebastian told him to visit the kitchen. What he had found was Lady Ishiki, cooking alongside Reian and Bard, wearing a mottled green cotton kimono, a once-white and now soiled apron hanging from her neck. It was atrocious! A lady of high rank and nobility was preparing breakfast for the household! He heard Sebastian sigh behind him. "If only you helped around the house too, _bocchan,_" the butler teased him. Ciel huffed. Bard looked up. "She's pretty good at this, Master," he said joyously. Ishiki grinned and poured the mixture onto a skillet in front of her. "Breakfast will be ready in just a minute!" she called. "Go and wipe that stupid look off your face!"

Ciel promptly turned around and walked out into the corridor. "What a sight," he muttered, shaking his head. Sebastian smiled. "If you'll excuse me, I shall go and set the dining table!" the butler announced and left. Ciel frowned. This was a very strange situation, he thought as he went downstairs and into the dining room, where Mei-Rin was setting the table. Bard was pouring drinks for two, and Sebastian and Lady Ishiki came in with serving platters covered in silver hoods each. Ciel noted that Ishiki's load was not much smaller than Sebastian's and that she must be very physically fit indeed.

"Breakfast is served!" Reian called from the kitchen. "I'll cover cleaning!"

Sebastian whisked his tray down onto the table and flipped off the hood with a _whoosh _in front of a set chair across from where Ciel was sitting, while Lady Ishiki skipped over and placed her tray before him. Ciel looked up at her in shock, but she only smiled. "Enjoy!" she told him, and whisked the cover off. A tasty smell immediately jumped into the air as Ciel looked down at the food on the table. It looked the same as it always did, but then again, Sebastian always cooked breakfast, so to for a mere human to remotely copy his handiwork was a great feat.

"Do you make breakfast often, Lady Ishiki?" Ciel asked the girl as she sat down in her seat and started eating. "Usually. Cooking is really fun!" she replied, munching on her omelet. Ciel nodded and started eating. It tasted almost as good as Sebastian's. He was impressed yet again.

"After breakfast we should make arrangements pertaining to which stores will sell your book," Lady Ishiki proposed. Ciel nodded in agreement. There was no time for idle conversation. It was time he got down to work.

"Lady Ishiki is quite a hard worker, isn't she, Rei-chan?" Sebastian asked the female butler as he mixed the cake batter. It was three fifty-eight and in two minutes it would be tea time. Which meant that both young masters would need their tea and cakes. For today's cake there was strawberry roll cake made in the Oriental style with black Darjeeling tea. It was a recipe that Reian had picked up from her visit to Asia and Sebastian wanted to try it out right away. As she quickly chopped a dozen strawberries into bits in under five seconds, she nodded. "It seems that _oujo-sama_'s stay with that cult has brought her up nicely. She is a very unusual girl. Sometimes I worry about her, but she will be one tasty soul to devour," Reian said, pressing the strawberries over a wire mesh to squeeze out the juice. She took all the juice and handed it to Sebastian, who mixed it into the batter, turning it pink. Sebastian heard her giggle and opened one red eye. Reian was trying not to burst out laughing, but her face was beet red.

"It's so amusing seeing such a butler beating a pink cake batter!" she laughed, wiping away tears. Sebastian thought of all the times Lady Elizabeth had visited the estate and almost gulped. "Is that so?" he inquired, smiling. Reian reached over the table and grabbed the carton of special milk. She poured some into a bowl and set it down. She looked around the table and fetched the whisk. She winked at Sebastian playfully. "Ready?" she asked him. "What would be the Phantomhive butler if he couldn't do such a thing?" Sebastian replied. "_Dewa_…" Reian muttered and tossed the whisk into the air. At the same time, Sebastian quickly poured the batter into a rectangular pan and swept it into the oven. He dusted off his spotless white gloves and watched as Reian stirred the milk so hard it kept to the inside of the bowl. After a few seconds it slowly formed into crème, and Sebastian retrieved the pan, now coated with a thick slab of pink cake. He held it out as Reian took a spatula and spread the white crème onto the top of the slab. Sebastian bent down so he was eye level with the pan and blew softly. The end of the pink slab flew up and it rolled into a fat roll. He cut it into slices and put two slices each onto two small plates that Reian had ready. She whisked them onto the table, grabbed a few trinklets, and before long, the two plates were decorated with icing and berries.

"One minute exactly," Reian announced. "Perfect." Sebastian bowed slightly and took the two plates. He walked out the door quickly, hearing Reian's footsteps behind him. He entered _bocchan_'s study to find Ciel and Lady Ishiki playing a game of chess.

Ciel looked up. Sebastian and Reian had entered the room with tea and cakes. He smiled foxily. "Perfect timing, Sebastian," he complimented the butler. He turned back to Lady Ishiki, sitting opposite him. "Checkmate," and ended the game. Lady Ishiki laughed. "You beat me again!" she giggled. Sebastian walked forward with the cakes. Ciel stood up and walked over to the small table set for two at the corner of the room. "Let us have tea, Lady Ishiki," he beckoned to her. Promptly, both masters were seated, and Sebastian set the cakes in front of them. Leian came forward and poured tea. "Today we have prepared strawberry roll cake and black Darjeeling tea, masters," she bowed and stepped back. Ciel saw Lady Ishiki clap. He turned to Sebastian, who was staring at him oddly.

"You are dismissed, Sebastian," he waved to his butler, and the two adults left.

As Ciel walked outside for his walk, he reflected on the day. They had finished work early, and he had found Lady Ishiki quite agreeable to work with. Today she had worn a green kimono, and it had not been too distracting, so that was very well. As Ciel walked along the lakeshore, watching the oranges and reds glimmer on the water, he heard a noise. Sebastian stood to his side, bowing. "I have told you not to wander out here alone, _bocchan_," his butler scolded. "There are plenty of people who would like to have you dead." Ciel turned away and continued walking, but Sebastian kept up easily. Side by side the two walked in the moonlight, silence deafening. After long last, Sebastian finally spoke up.

"Lady Ishiki is quite an agreeable girl, don't you think?" Sebastian inquired of his master. Ciel sighed. "She _is_ quite agreeable, though her mannerisms are very strange for anyone of her rank. I like her. She has much more interesting conversations then Lizzy," he admitted. Sebastian smiled. "How rare," he noted, "of _bocchan _to take likings to girls." Ciel shot him an annoyed glare. "And what about Leian?" he asked. "It is not like you two are just associates." Sebastian smiled craftily. "About that…"

"Just like the shinigami have an association, demons have one as well," the butler explained. "There are thirteen butlers including Leian and I. We all get along fairly well…" Ciel saw Sebastian hesitated before the _get along_, but he pushed this aside. "Leian is the only female butler in the entire association. She is the only woman who hasn't gotten killed off yet. Her skills are on the same level as the rest of the association, however because of her gender she is thought to be weaker." Ciel smiled. "Women these days are truly amazing," he mumbled. "A single female against twelve males? There must be some kind of tension held against her." Ciel looked at Sebastian expectantly. Sebastian nodded. "You are very astute, _bocchan,_" he complimented. He did not say anything after this. Ciel grunted. "Well? Are you going to tell me about it or not?" he asked gruffly. Sebastian bowed. "If you wish to hear about it," he answered. Ciel nodded. "Well then," Sebastian started. "Leian has undergone a great amount of torment in the last five centuries. Several of the other demons have tried to force themselves on her. Utterly disgraceful. Those demons are the barbarians of the association. One demon has affections for her. He is probably the weakest demon out of all of us. She is constantly teased and bullied, but she has endured it. She has only fought back once. I befriended her shortly afterwards. She and I are very good friends, in summary."

Ciel contemplated this. It was certainly strange for Sebastian to have such a good relationship outside of cats. Then again, like butler like master, so Leian must be a very special butler. He considered the fact that they might be in love with each other, but then again, Sebastian wasn't really the type. He decided to leave it at that.

"In any case," Sebastian continued in a velvety voice. "Lady Ishiki's visit shall be quite interesting, don't you think, _bocchan?" _ Ciel nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to his butler. He didn't know what to think of any of this, which troubled him. He didn't like not knowing how to think of things, but, he decided, he'd just have to find out.


End file.
